Softball game will help sick kids

Ah, summer softball . . . what could be better than getting out on the field and having fun in the sun?
Raising money for sick children.
The Angels on the Bay 12th annual softball charity game does both.
The game is set for 6 p.m. on June 26 at Victory Field in Forest Park. Proceeds will go to local children’s hospitals.
According to George Russo, a Queens lawyer whose family started the organization in 1994, Angels on the Bay usually gets 20 to 25 players for the softball game each year. Each player has a sponsor, who donates $300. Most of the sponsors are local businesses and unions, although some players sponsor themselves.
Russo said that Angels on the Bay raises between $8,000 and $10,000 every year from its softball game.
“We wind up with more sponsors than players,” he said.
Last year, City Councilmember Joseph Addabbo participated in the game and Russo said that he hoped he would play again this year.
After the game, participants will go to dinner at Carosello, a restaurant in Howard Beach.
Russo added that the benefits of the softball game were two-fold.
“We get to raise money and see our friends,” he said.
Money raised by the organization goes to local hospitals that specialize in pediatric care, including St. Mary’s Hospital for Children in Bayside and Peninsula Hospital Center in Far Rockaway.
The softball game is one of six events that Angels on the Bay organizes every year. Other events include a golf outing, a bowling night and a 5k run.
For more information on the game, call Cathy Burns at 718 843-5055 ext. 126.